How to improve FPS in Death Stranding (PC)
Death Stranding arrived on PC in 2020 courtesy of 505 Games and Kojima Productions, and from day one became the textbook example of how to optimize a PS4 port. Built on the Decima engine (the same one that powers Horizon Zero Dawn), it scales extraordinarily well on modern hardware, delivering over 200 FPS on high-end cards without breaking a sweat. It was also a launch title for NVIDIA DLSS 2.0, making it a technical showcase for AI upscaling. This isn't a fight to reach a stable 60 FPS: the real conversation here is how to make the most of that very high ceiling to take advantage of a high-refresh-rate monitor. This guide focuses on which settings make a real visual difference and which only cost FPS without perceptible benefit.
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Calculations based on our FPS model combined with the % gain of each setting (measured in public benchmarks).
1. Quick wins (no visual loss)
Start here. Each one adds a little, but together they give +28% free FPS.
Terrain Tessellation
Terrain tessellation adds geometric detail to Iceland-inspired rocks and terrain in the foreground, but on High or Ultra the performance cost doesn't match the visual improvement, which is only noticeable when looking closely at the ground. Lowering it to Medium frees up FPS without most people noticing the difference while walking or driving.
Volumetric Clouds
Death Stranding's volumetric clouds are one of the Decima engine's biggest visual achievements, but also one of the most expensive settings per FPS gained above High. On Medium they keep believable volume and movement, and the impact is only noticeable in clear skies with grazing light.
Screen Space Reflections
Screen-space reflections are noticeable mainly in puddles and wet surfaces after the game's central time-rain mechanic. Even so, the difference between Medium and Ultra is subtle except in urban zones with lots of reflective surface, so Medium is an almost-free saving.
Motion Blur
Motion blur doesn't add fidelity and in an exploration and package-carrying game tends to blur the reading of uneven terrain, exactly when it matters most to see where you're stepping. Disabling it improves visual clarity and gives a small extra FPS boost.
Depth of Field
Depth of field blurs the background during cutscenes and certain transitions, an artistic but dispensable effect during gameplay, where seeing distant terrain clearly matters more for planning routes. Disabling it is an almost cost-free FPS gain in gameplay.
2. Medium impact settings
Here's where most of the FPS is. Minor visual impact, major performance impact.
Model Quality
Model Quality controls the level of detail of nearby characters and objects, including Sam and the cargo he carries. Dropping from Ultra to High frees up a decent FPS margin and the detail loss is only visible in very close close-ups, uncommon outside cutscenes.
Texture Quality
Textures on High already look sharp on most monitors, and the jump to Ultra demands more VRAM without a clear improvement except on 4K screens with high-memory GPUs. On cards with 8GB or less, keeping it on High avoids hitches from insufficient VRAM.
Shadow Quality
Dynamic shadows in Iceland-inspired open landscapes have a notable performance cost, especially in zones with vegetation and BRIDGES structures. Medium keeps soft, believable shadows, while Ultra introduces a disproportionate cost for the extra distant detail it provides.
Anti-Aliasing (TAA)
Decima's TAA does a good job smoothing edges across the vast mountain landscapes without destroying sharpness, but its cost grows if combined with low internal resolutions. On High it keeps a good balance; combining it with DLSS is the best way to recover FPS without sacrificing image stability.
3. Upscaling (DLSS / FSR / XeSS)
The biggest gain in the game. Compatible with almost any modern GPU.
NVIDIA DLSS
+35% FPSDeath Stranding was one of DLSS 2.0's launch titles in 2020 and remains a reference for how it should be implemented: sharp image reconstruction even in Performance mode, with very few artifacts on Sam's hair and suit fabric. On RTX GPUs it's the most efficient way to jump from 100 to 150+ FPS at 1440p or 4K without touching any other setting. The game never received native AMD FSR or Intel XeSS support, so on non-RTX GPUs you'll need to rely on render resolution and traditional graphics settings.
4. Tips by GPU
NVIDIA
- •Enable DLSS in Quality or Balanced mode to gain extra FPS without sacrificing sharpness, especially at 1440p and 4K.
- •On RTX 30 and 40 series, the game barely saturates VRAM except at 4K with Ultra textures; monitor usage if you notice microstutters.
- •Use Reflex if available via the NVIDIA panel to reduce latency in high-speed vehicle sections.
AMD
- •With no native FSR, lower the internal render resolution (Resolution Scale) to ease the load on mid-range GPUs.
- •Radeon GPUs handle the Decima engine well; prioritize lowering Volumetric Clouds and Shadow Quality before Texture Quality.
- •Update to the latest Adrenalin drivers, since general DirectX 11 performance improvements directly benefit this game.
Sistema
- •The game is mostly GPU-bound, so a mid-range processor (recent-generation Ryzen 5 / Core i5) already avoids bottlenecks.
- •Install it on SSD to reduce loading times between map regions, especially noticeable in the large mountainous zones.
- •Close third-party overlays (Discord, GeForce Experience) if you notice occasional frametime drops in scenes with lots of timefall rain particles.
5. Known game issues
Occasional microstutters with overlays active
Some users reported small stutters when using recording or chat overlays during the first weeks after launch. Disabling unnecessary overlays resolves the issue in the vast majority of cases.
Estado: 2020 launch patch
High VRAM usage on Ultra at 4K
With Texture Quality and Model Quality both on Ultra at 4K resolution, cards with 6-8GB of VRAM can experience occasional frametime drops. Lowering one of the two to High solves the problem with no noticeable visual loss.
Limited FSR/XeSS compatibility
Without native AMD FSR or Intel XeSS support, users without an NVIDIA GPU depend entirely on traditional resolution scaling to gain extra FPS, unlike more recent Kojima Productions ports.
6. Frequently asked questions
Do I need a powerful GPU to play Death Stranding at a good framerate?▾
Is it worth enabling DLSS if my GPU already gives lots of FPS?▾
Why isn't there FSR or XeSS in Death Stranding?▾
Which settings should I prioritize if I'm chasing 144+ FPS?▾
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Calculate FPS for Death Stranding →Calculations based on consensus of technical sources and our own FPS model. More about our methodology →